#am i still invited to hang with the cool fnaf fandom kids

[patchworkspringlocks]

Well, another day another wiki hunt agonizing over and examining in-depth the 16-bit sprites in sister location to determine the rate of decay and exactly how much of michael is left after the scoopening as part of my own efforts to reach a design that blends his rotting appearance with something that can adequately pretend to be a normal human enough to suit my specific horror-related tastes. TW for a rather thorough examination of the stages of death and body decomposition below the cut

Tl;dr I have done way too much research on this and also draw scooped!Michael as a decaying corpse more often you cowards (/lh)

The scooping machine was created to remove animatronic endoskeletons (as well as collect and hold Remnant), which by design are all interconnected to the chassis judging by the blueprints for the Funtimes. The human body is similar, but joints and muscles and organs and blood vessels and various bodily systems can be severed from the rest much more easily than metal wires and beams, especially by a device as blunt and crude as the scooper’s arm. It stands to reason that there are some elements of a human body that would be more inclined to break and tear under that sudden amount of force rather than be pulled out. This is also supported by the visuals of Ballora getting scooped in Night 4, where at least one eye and part of the endoskeleton jaw can be seen after falling still as the scooper finishes its function.

Michael in multiple cutscenes (including the ending) has evidence of teeth, as rotting as they are, suggesting that there is enough of a skull left for teeth roots to still be intact, though the lack of lower teeth suggests that his jawbone was a part of his skeleton that had gotten scooped. It’s also possible that after Ennard had snatched his body they may have removed additional pieces left behind to make more room inside their new flesh suit, including parts of the skull they were unable to fit their endoskeleton head into. They could also have kept some of the skeleton more intact and simply snaked their wires around them to make piloting the body around seem more fluid and believable. I’m not sure exactly how knowledgeable a bunch of animatronics who have hardly ever seen the outside world would be about embalming practices, but it’s not unlikely that they would want to at least try to preserve their means of access to the world for as long as possible. They definitely wouldn’t take too kindly to flies and maggots infesting and devouring their host. Unfortunately there’s no concrete evidence for where Michael lives in the US so environmental factors that affect the rate of decay are hard to determine. Walking around openly in the daytime, though, definitely would not help to slow the decomposition process, Ennard.

The stages of decay set in quite normally for a week-long time period, although I also suspect that the body didn’t break down as fast due to the lack of digestive bacteria that would further accelerate the process of putrefaction. There’s also the contention of the large gaping cavity in the center of the torso which would allow whatever putrid gases to escape freely rather than bloat within the body, although Michael still has the signature greenish hue of decomposition during the cutscenes. I also think that the blackened eyes can refer to the process of corneal clouding and deflation which happens after death, though it’s also reasonable to assume that Ennard had long since removed his eyes completely.

Fun fact, thanks to my own morbid fascination and tendency to go down deep wikipedia rabbit holes: during putrefaction there’s the possibility of the formation of a substance called adipocere from the decomposition of body fat that can act as a natural embalmment cast and preserve features long after they would have decayed. It’s possible Michael, either before or after Ennard vomited themselves out of him, could have some form of corpse wax present, but given Ennard’s rather flippant nature towards their host body it’s rather unlikely. Still interesting to learn about, though.

Michael’s ourple-ness can be seen as both a nod to his relation to Purple Guy and an artistic representation of his body in the beginning of advanced decay, where the remaining body tissues blacken and internal organs liquify and dissolve. Since Michael has no internal organs left, I doubt there would be as much of a rotting corpse smell that’s caused by gases released during the active and advanced decay stages as a result of anaerobic bacteria breaking down the body’s organic matter. Still, it’s no wonder he’d gotten a pink slip for bad odor.

Another fun fact: if hair is kept dry enough, it can stay attached to the body for centuries. This is mostly attributed to mummies, which were embalmed in a very hot, dry environment, so sorry Michael but it looks like your locks would not survive unless it happened to be a particularly dry heatwave during the time you were forced to be out and about.

Although I highly doubt this and there’s no active evidence for this theory, just my own overactive brain, something about how haunting works in the FNaF universe may contribute to his continued existence beyond just being a remnant continuously out for blood. There may be some kind of supernatural effect that “freezes” the body or structure a spirit haunts at the moment the ghost enters, preventing it from falling apart and becoming unusable before the ghost’s mission is complete. Extremely unlikely, but theoretically plausible. Or perhaps Michael’s sheer rage and spite is strong enough for him to forcibly put himself back together for decades Dabi heroacademia-style. Who knows.

With all of this out of my system I’m now going to be going back over my old scooped!Michael design and properly corpse-ifying him this time. Might share some of the results here afterwards, if that’s anything.